Traditionally, skate boots and footwear in general, are constructed over a last of a specific shoe size. A last is a three-dimensional shape of the inside walls of the footwear on which the upper of the footwear is formed. Once the upper is completed, an outer sole is glued or nailed to the upper and an insole covering the entire plantar surface of the foot is inserted into the upper to provide the cushioning means of the footwear. A typical insole may incorporate sidewalls, which surrounds the heel in order to center the foot inside the footwear and a small bulge in the midfoot area adapted to support the inside arch of the foot.
A wide array of insole designs has been introduced to increase the level of comfort and support afforded by a footwear, some of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,432, U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,562, U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,657, U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,700, U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,698, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,537,156.
In general, sport footwear are either made traditionally over a last and incorporate an innersole covering the plantar surface of the foot or are made of a molded plastic shell combined with a inner soft boot completely enclosing the foot and portion of the ankle and lower leg.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,544 discloses an athletic shoe such for football, soccer and track and field shoe constructed of a rear molded plastic shell and a front upper made of soft material joined together at the mid-section. A lining, which protrudes from the front upper, is inserted into the rear shell when the two parts are assembled providing the necessary cushioning means. An insole is inserted into the shoe, covering the foot-resting region. This type of shoe construction also allows the used of a rear shell for a range of shoe size. The rear shell may be used with front uppers of different length and width thereby minimizing the number of shells needed to put on the market a full range of sizes of a specific footwear product line. The shortcoming of this construction is that an insole, a front upper and a lining are required for each shoe size.
In light of these various designs, there is a need for a footbed adapted for a footwear construction comprising a molded plastic shell or for a traditionally made footwear capable of defining the size of the footwear so constructed while providing the necessary level of support and comfort for the sporting activity the footwear is designed for.